SUGAR HILL — The Sugar Hill City Council announced at its monthly meeting Monday night that it has narrowed from 14 to two the companies it is considering to be general contractor of its planned City Hall.

After interviewing three companies at both of two specially called meetings last month, Choate Construction and Van Winkle & Company were named finalists to potentially work with architect Precision Planning on the $8.5 million, three-story hall at the northeast corner of West Broad Street and Temple Drive. The 30,000 square foot hall is part of the city’s $14 million planned downtown street scape along the half-mile of West Broad between Peachtree Industrial and Ga. Highway 20.

Council members said they eagerly await final interviews with Choate and Van Winkle on Nov. 16 and likely announcement of their choice at their monthly meeting on Dec. 13. Construction is scheduled tentatively to begin early next year.

The council was impressed with Choate’s work on a building similar to its hall, the Coweta County Courthouse, and Van Winkle’s additions to Gainesville’s Riverside Military Academy.

“I think either of the two would do a very good job,” Mayor Gary Pirkle said. “I think we’re in a no-lose situation at this point.”

In separate business Monday, the council voted to allow its soon-to-open Kroger grocery store at Ga. Highway 20 and Suwanee Dam Road to sell beer and wine during the same hours nearby cities allow.

Prior to Monday, Sugar Hill had ordinances governing hours of alcohol consumption and conditions of sale, but not hours of sale. Need for a time ordinance first arose with the impending grand opening of the Kroger, Sugar Hill’s first 24-hour grocer, scheduled for Nov. 18.

Upon finding that Suwanee, Duluth, Grayson, Snellville and Gwinnett County allowed round-the-clock grocers to sell from 7 a.m. to midnight daily except Sunday, when Georgia prohibits packaged sale, Gwinnett’s fourth largest city created its ordinance to coincide.

“It sounds like it’s a pretty good consensus with other municipalities in the county,” Pirkle said.